


The Trial

by RebeccaAnabelBurrows



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 23:05:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18647953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaAnabelBurrows/pseuds/RebeccaAnabelBurrows
Summary: Marlene didn't die in Autumn, 1981.When the Potters are killed, she's here to support Remus and make sure Sirius has a fair trial.





	The Trial

Remus opened the door and sighed. Really, he had it coming. He hadn't answered her last five owls - not that she looked upset, though. There was no reproach in her eyes.

He tried to smile and to look unaffected. It was a mistake - Marlene frowned at the fakeness of it all.

He threw a look at the corridor. Deserted. Fine, he didn't want Mrs Hampstead to comment on his imaginary conquests next time he met her. His neighbour couldn't stop talking about his cousin Jenna when the American girl had stayed at his place for two weeks in Spring.

"Come in." he said.

The woman on his doorstep offered him a smile -a real, shy one - before stepping in. Remus closed the door quietly behind them.

Marlene was looking the same as usual. He knew it was her way of coping.

She stayed strong for the first days, when things had to be done. Usually, it lasted until everything had been coped with. And then only, she would collapse.

When Dorcas had died, she had done like nothing had happened for three weeks.

Her break down had been really, really disastrous. She had spent two days at St Mungo's. Sirius had taken her in for a few weeks after that. He had helped her to get better when all she wanted was to die. He had stayed up night after night, looking after Marlene.

Marlene blinked, chasing the bittersweet memories away.

She caught Remus looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Her thick curly hair was put in its customary messy bun, her make-up was discreet and applied flawlessly. Her lips were painted in dark red. The pale blue of her woolen robes constrated with her brown skin and Remus' dark clothes.

He gestured for her to follow him. She did her best not to stumble on the second-hand books' stacks lying here and there in the flat as he guided her to the kitchen. Marlene had shared a flat with the youngest Meadowes' sister for months and the girl wasn't that bad. And boy did she read. Phoebe was halfway through her third rereading of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings when she had met her death at some Deatheater's hands.

Poor girl. She was so nice. Marlene had met Dorcas at her burial. The teenage girls - Marlene was barely 18 then, and Dorcas wouldn't be 20 for several months then - had comforted each other awkwardly.

About a year later, they were kissing for the first time under the Christmas tree.

She smiled at the memory. She smiled because she wished to cry. She was becoming good at this game.

Dorcas had died this summer. Phoebe's death was bad. Dorcas' death ? There were no words for that.

She had felt lethargic for days, acting like a robot until she broke in the middle of the shoekeeper's shop when she saw the pair of boots Dorcas always bought when she had to replace her old ones. They were plain, flat, pratical shoes that come in every colour and size. Dorcas may had bought twelve pairs of them or so in the three years they had known each other.

They had been in a secret relationship for two years when the last of the Meadowes had died. The girl was not 23.

And then, Marlene had lost her family.

Not that she was willing to deal on that right now. Priorities.

She tried to concentrate on present times as Remus handed her a mug of tea.

She hadn't noticed when he had put the kettle on.

"You're okay ?" he asked.

Remus was a sweetheart, always full of concern.

He wouldn't know how close Dorcas and Marlene were, so much more than roommates, but he knew how hard it was to lose your family. Even if Marlene and her family had been estranged when they died.

She had shrugged, wrapping her hands around the hot mug, seeking comfort in the warmth.

"We shouldn't be talking about me. Don't try to avoid it, Rem."

As nice as he could be, Remus also was a sneaky bastard who diverted the attention from him with a praticed ease.

"Avoid what ?" he said.

He refused to meet her gaze.

"You need to talk about him." she said plainly.

No need for a long agony. Her companion laughed without warmth.

"Don't you ? I thought he was your best friend." Remus said quietly.

He looked older since last time she saw him. And he had never looked young for a start.

His eyes were centuries old. He had always acted more mature than his age.

Marlene took a deep breath. They had to talk, no matter how hard it was. Remus needed it. She needed it.

"You know what ? Yes, he was. Sirius helped me through the months following Dori's death. He was a good friend." she asserted.

Her tea was still untouched. Remus made good tea, but it couldn't rival Dorcas'. Marlene hadn't been able to enjoy tea since her girlfriend passed away.

"Didn't you read the news ? He killed his friends." the young man snapped.

His tone was harsh but his eyes were watery. He looked away.

She had to be more careful. It was evident the former Gryffindor was deeply affected by the situation.

"I did. I don't know why he killed Pete, but there's one thing I am certain of. He couldn't have betrayed James if he had thought it would end up like this."

Sirius had always talked about James with such fondness, they were the two sides of a same coin.

Remus closed his eyes. The pain was too much. It radiated from him. Marlene winced.

"And how did he think it would end up ?" he whispered.

His voice was a broken sound. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt. He was on the verge of thinking the next full moon would do him good. The wolf didn't have friends, after all. Distractors at best, but not friends. And chances were it killed itself by tearing itself apart if the others weren't here. Wasn't it what he wanted ? A few more days and it could stop, finally.

"I don't know, Remus. He was lost probably. His brother had died. So had Alphard." Marlene said carefully.

She had met Alphard, once. He was a good man. Sirius and her suspected his death wasn't natural. There had been hints made towards a suicide in the newspapers. Blacks tended to kill themselves a lot more than the average family, according to their death's reports. More or less willingly, according to Sirius.

She touched her friend's knee lightly. Remus was shaking. It was too much.

"He could have talked to us. My parents had died two years ago, and I hadn't betrayed my friends because of it."

Marlene could see he was furious. His voice had a harsh quality to it. He had to put his teacup down to not crush it.

She knew he wouldn't be pleased with what she was going to ask from him. She had to, anyway. She owed it to Sirius, and to her own conscience. It was time to act like a Gryffindor (even tho this reasoning resulted in death more often than not).

"I know. But Remus, you have to admit it : he deserves a trial. Everyone deserves one, and from what I heard, he won't have one. We have to fight this."

The young man produced a distressed sound, his face hidden into his large hands.

"I can't."

She looked at him with pity. Love was a cruel gift.

"Of course you can. Just because you hate his guts right now doesn't m-" she started.

They had to give him a chance to explain. It would only be fair - and maybe they would get answers that would help them to heal. At first, she couldn't quite reconcile her love for the friend who had held her in her grief with her disgust for the man who had sold his bestfriend to You-know-who. Now, she was putting the friend part first.

"No, Marls. I can't." Remus said, and his voice caught in his throat.

She put her mug down and took his pale hands in hers.

"Why not ?" she said soothingly.

Remus was agitated. He looked over his shoulder twice and scratched his neck.

"It won't play in his favour." he said.

Remus had turned bright red and couldn't meet his friend's eyes. He could have had S.H.A.M.E spelled on his forehead that it wouldn't have been clearer.

Marlene refrained to roll her eyes. Really ? Was it all it was about ?

"I understand. It's okay. Me too."

Remus snorted.

"I don't think so."

Marlene narrowed her eyes at him. What was he playing at ?

"Excuse me, I think I know myself better. Dorcas had never done something as harmful, but I did love her. Still do."

Remus nodded sadly before shaking his head.

"Marlene, you have no idea -"

"It's fine. Just because they say it is wrong -"

"You don't understand, Marls." the other Gryffindor cried out.

He sounded frustrated. Good. She was, too. They were going nowhere. Remus had to admit his feelings if he wanted to go forward.

"If it's because of what he has done, well, feelings just don't evaporate like that. You can't keep up that charade. You're hurting, Remus. You have to acknowledge what you feel for him before it gets better."

"I don't want to talk about it. This isn't what keeps me from testifying, anyway."

Remus took a sip of his now cold tea to avoid her gaze. Marlene looked doubtful.

"Really ? Because I -"

"It has nothing to do with Sirius, it's about me." he said through gritted teeth.

Oh. There was so much self-hatred in his words. It's about me. Marlene shuddered unvolontarily.

She had to say something. The other boys weren't there. Remus had nobody else to rely on. She squarred her shoulders.

"Remus, it's okay to feel what you feel for a guy, even if you're a guy yourself."

Her tone of voice didn't allowed contradiction, and yet Remus couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"That's not it. And let's not talk about what I feel."

The misunderstood pose he had adopted was starting to grate on her. He wasn't the only one who had felt what he was feeling. Her girlfriend was dead, for fuck's sake ! She stayed silent a few seconds to calm down. His loss was very new, after all, and she needed him to support her project.

"That's not healthy, Rem. But I'll humour you if it makes you feel better. Why, then ?" she managed to say without animation.

The look he threw her was almost feral. She would remember it later. He pinched his noise and scratched his neck again, before meeting her gaze again.

"I am a bloody werewolf Marls, that's why !"

Remus seemed so serious, Marlene didn't dare to laugh. She didn't move but went very still.

"Sorry, I think I misheard you ?"

She squeezed his hands. He moved them away from her.

"I am not of a sickly composure. Wasn't before I was turned into a werewolf, anyway."

He looked at his feet. Marlene was lost.

"Wait... you're really implying ... ?" she said softly.

"That I turn into a monster every once in a month ? Yes. That I can't be a witness for the defense any more than an animal ? Absolutely. That I'm probably going to lose your friendship right now because of something I can't control ? That's up to you, but it wouldn't be a surprise."

A second later, Remus had a lapful of Pureblood witch on his hands. Marlene was hugging him to death.

"Merlin, when I saw the scars on your arm when I went at Pete's unannounced, I thought you might be self-harming. It worried me. I talked to Sirius but he said you had an accident in your infancy. Are you okay ? How long had it been ?"

Remus tried very hard not to cry. He had that kind of unconditional love not long ago. The people who used to give it to him were either dead or had been arrested.

Marlene rocked them gently.

"I was bitten when I was a little boy. The guys found out when we were in second year. I told Lily when she married James and she was too nice to say she had already figured it out."

Remus put his head on the young woman's shoulder.

"Lily was great like that." she admitted.

The wizard nodded.

"She was."

Marlene brushed his hair with her fingers affectionately.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have insisted on this issue."

Remus moved away a bit to have a better look at her face.

"You couldn't know. And er- Marls ?"

He had taken her hands into his and now looked uncertain.

"Yes ?" she questionned gently.

He scrutinized her face. Whatever he saw, it must have satisfied him because he kept talking.

"If you can, please do it. Give Sirius a fair trial."

He said it softly. His breath had caught on his once friend's name. He hadn't uttered it aloud as long as he could. He missed it. He missed how easily the two syllabs used to flow on his tongue.

"I'll try my best. Remus, is your condition the reason you didn't take Harry in ?"

"I'd ask Dumbledore to intervein, but he is the one who demanded he was placed at his aunt's. It would be foolish to go against his wish."

Probably, he didn't think a werewolf fit to raise a child. Remus wouldn't blame him if he did. He wasn't in a good place anyway. He didn't think he could sustain to a child's needs right now.

Marlene wrinkled her nose.

"His aunt's ? I didn't think Lily and her were close, she seldom talked to her."

"They weren't. Lily tried to stay in contact with her, but Petunia was of a peculiar kind. I didn't think she would have looked forward to obtain Harry's custody."

Remus shrugged.

"Odd. Maybe she wanted to do right by her sister. I would have done so if Kyle hadn't survived, no matter how tainted my relationship with my own sister was. I would have raised their son as my own."

Her family was deemed progressive by the newspapers -which basically means they supported Muggleborns' rights -, but truly she felt they had been quite conservative. They had never been very close, but her coming out had created a breech between them. Carol had said pretty hurtful things at the time.

Joanna and Andrew too. She had been at odds with her family since she was 16. Her parents had given her enough money to rent a comfortable flat - and lighten their guilty consciences- and had asked her to never come back.

And she didn't have. She was not at the manor for the family dinner that turned into a bloodbath. Hopefully Carol and Kyle's young son was at a friend's.

Andrew had written birthday cards to her every year and reached out when Dorcas had been killed to check if Marlene was okay. She had refused to talk to him and slammed the door in his face. It was the last time she had seen him.

She hadn't been in contact with her parents and Carol for years. Joanna had written to her once. Let's just say the letter hadn't been pleasant to read.

When Remus accompanied her back to the door, after a few hours spent discussing the merits and wrongs of Russian and French litterature while playing Exploding snap, Marlene hugged him.

"Marls. Make it happen, please."

She put a hand on her heart solemnly.

"I will, Rem. Trust me."


End file.
